Wire seam



Dec. 14, 1937. O ABENDROTH 2,102,300

WIRE SEAM Filed April 19, 1937 @av nIh W W: v MW Patented Dec. 14, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention appertains to woven wire belts of the type commonly employed in making paper on Fourdrinier machines, and more particularly to a novel seam or means for joining the end of the wire cloth or belt together to form the endless construction.

One of the salient objects of my present invention is to provide a novel seam for endless wire belts of paper-making machines, which will be exceptionally strong and durable without reducing drainage through the belt or mark the paper in any way.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide means whereby the seam can be quickly and economically made without the employment of highly skilled labor.

A further object of my invention is to provide a soldered or welded seam, in which a weft wire at one end of the belt is exposed by trimming the 20 warp wires extremely close thereto and substituting a solid fusible wire of relatively large diameter for the weft wire at the other end of the belt, so that the fusible wire can be placed in close or abutting relation to the exposed weft wire, whereby upon the melting of the fusible wire by heat the same will flow over the weft wire and the adjacent ends of the warp wires to effectively join the belt ends together.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the adjacent ends of a wire Fourdrinier belt, the view being on a large scale and showing the warp wires at one end of the belt trimmed close to the end weft wire, and a fusible wire substituted for an end weft wire on the other terminal of the belt.

Figure 2 is a view similar to- Figure 1, showing both terminals of the belt trimmed and placed in abutting relation just prior to the welding of the seam.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the completed seam.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the belt taken substantially on the line 44 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter B generally indicates a wire fabric belt for a Fourdrinier machine. This belt includes terminals 5 and 6, which are to be united together by my novel joint or seam.

The first step in making the seam consists in trimming the warp wires 1 of the belt terminal 6 close to the end weft wire 8. The three end weft wires of the belt terminal 5 are completely removed, and a fuse wire 9 of a larger diameter than the diameter of the removed weft wire is substituted therefor, after which the warp wires 10 are trimmed close to the fuse wire 9.

The belt terminals 5 and B are then brought into close proximity, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawing, with the weft wire 8 and the fuse weft wire 9 in close or abutting relation. Heat is now applied to the fuse wire 9 and the wire terminals are urged toward one another. The fuse wire 9 is completely melted and flows over the weft wire 8 and over and between the adjacent ends of the warp wires 7 and l 0. The melted solder from the fuse wire is indicated by the numeral I l in Figures 3 and 4.

The solder flowing around the weft wire and over the warp wires 1 and Hi and between the adjacent ends thereof firmly unites the terminals 5 and 6 of the belt B together. This forms an exceedingly strong and durable joint, and as no undue bulk is provided at the joint or seam, the paper will not be marked and free drainage through the belt will be permitted.

By removing the three end weft wires from the belt terminal 5, the fuse wire 9 can be easily slipped in place, and as this wire is of a relatively large diameter, the ends of the warp wires will be slightly spread so that as the fuse wire melts these spread ends will be enabled to grip the weft wire 8 as the terminals 5 and 3 are brought together.

Not only is the joint or seam mechanically strong, but the same can be easily formed without the employment of highly skilled labor, and as the heat employed for melting the fuse wire 9 is not of a high temperature, there is no danger of burning the weft wire 8 or the warp wires 1 and I0.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

l. The method of producing a seam in a wire fabric which comprises trimming the warp wires close to the end weft wire of one terminal of the fabric; removing a weft wire from the other terminal and substituting a solid fuse wire therefor; trimmingthe warp wires of the last mentioned terminal close to the fuse wire; bringing the terminals together with the fuse wire in close relation to the end weft wire and applying heat to the fuse wire to completely melt the same.

2. The method of producing a seam in a wire fabric which comprises trimming the warp wires close to the end weft wire of one terminal of the fabric removing a weft wire from the other terminal and substituting a solid fuse wire of greater diameter than the weft wire therefor; trimming the warp wires of the last mentioned terminal close to the fuse wire; bringing the terminals together with the fuse wire in close relation to the end weft wire and applying heat to the fuse wire to completel'y'melt the same. i O'I'IO A. ABENDROTH. 

